The way a nation utilizes the heart of its capital reflects its values, the Transitional Justice Commission said in its proposal for transforming Taipei’s Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, asking what message it sends if the person responsible for persecuting thousands is still commemorated just like he had been under authoritarian rule.
The commission on Wednesday last week announced initial plans for erasing traces of authoritarianism from the memorial hall, starting with its “axis of worship,” or the 6.3m-tall bronze statue of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) in the main building.
There are at least two main reasons for transforming the complex, the commission said.
Photo: Chen Yu-hsun, Taipei Times
The first is a matter of principle, as democracies should not commemorate authoritarian rulers on the same scale and in the same way that they were honored in the past, it said.
The second reason is more practical, as the way in which a nation utilizes the center of its capital reflects its values at different moments in time, it said.
“The nation should not be spending so many resources to commemorate an authoritarian ruler,” the commission said, adding that original plans for the space did not even include a memorial hall.
From the 1880s, the 75,000 ping (247,934m2) area was used as military grounds, it said.
In 1971, the Executive Yuan proposed building a commercial center to showcase the nation’s modernization and economic development, the commission said.
It was only after Chiang’s death four years later that the government decided to build the memorial instead, utilizing traditional Chinese architectural elements in a reflection of party ideology, it said.
The commission also questioned maintaining the memorial.
Under the party-state system created by Chiang, all political and military power was controlled by one individual, the commission said.
Of the 7,822 people implicated for political crimes during his rule, Chiang exercised his right to personally review 3,469 cases, it said, adding that more than 60 percent were handed heavy sentences and 27.69 percent were sentenced to death.
Even though he did not rule on every case himself, past research has shown that he still heavily influenced judgements, as he had the final say in any political cases, causing lower-ranking officials to try and pre-empt his desires.
Considering the pain he caused, what message is being conveyed to the next generation by using public funds to maintain a memorial to Chiang, even long after democratization, the commission asked.
The memorial should be given back to the people and reinterpreted to inspire education about the nation’s past, it added.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by